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eMultiple Sclerosis Research AustraliaGovernance and Review

Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia

293 Mowbray Road, Chatswood NSW 2067PO Box 1246, Chatswood NSW 2057Ph: 02 9468 8390 | Freecall: 1300 356 467 E-mail: info@msra.org.au | www.msra.org.au ABN: 34 008 581 431

• A five-fold increase in annual MS research funding since 2004 and for every MSRA dollar spent, Australian scientists are leveraging another $5’s from government and overseas sources

• Supported and developed the Australian MS Longitudinal Study to track the long-term economic, physical and social impact of MS on Australians.

• Funded research (via the Ausimmune Study) that highlighted the protective benefits of vitamin D and identified that Tasmanians are seven times more likely to develop MS than Queenslanders.

• Initiated and funded the Australian and New Zealand Genetics Consortium (ANZgene) that identified two new genetic regions influencing MS susceptibility.

• Established the first Australian MS-specific Brain Bank to increase the amount of human tissue available for MS research.

• Established the first Australian MS-specific Clinical Trials Network to streamline MS clinical trial activity.

• Funded over 30 talented senior researchers and 24 rising stars in MS research through project grants, Scholarships and Fellowships.

MSA/MSRA Research Spend ($000's)

$0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000

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Achievements so far...

To make a donation, to pledge your brain for research, or to seek further information, please contact us:

1300 356 467 or

www.msra.org.au

MSRA HAS CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF MS RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA

Prof Trevor Kilpatrick, Professor of Neurology and Director, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne

TwO NEw SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOwSHIPS:

From 2010, MSRA introduced a senior level of ‘researcher support’, with two new positions established and now sponsored.

A/Prof David Booth at Westmead Millennium Institute is now the Hunt Family Foundation Senior MS Research Fellow, pursuing advanced research into the genetics of MS.

Dr John Parratt at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney is now the Neil & Norma Hill Foundation MS Clinical Research Fellow, pursuing research that is focused on the pathology of MS.

MSRA established

Accelerating Researchfor the prevention, better treatment and a cure for Multiple Sclerosis

Board of DirectorsPaul A Murnane – Chairman Executive Chairman & Senior Adviser, O’Sullivan Partners

Prof Bill Carroll Clinical Professor of Neurology, Head of Department, Neurology and Neurophysiology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth

Gabrielle Dalmau Consultant to MS Australia

Dr James Fox Chairman and Non-Executive Director, Biota Holdings Ltd, Deputy Chairman at Elders Ltd

Chris Gillies Chairman MS Limited, Director MS Australia

Rob Hubbard Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Brisbane office)

Simon McKeon

Executive Chairman, Macquarie Group Limited, Melbourne Office

Susan Nixon Managing Director, Strategic Conversations

Prof Graeme Stewart AM Director, Institute for Immunology and Allergy Research, Westmead Millennium Institute

Graham Tribe AM Former Chairman, Vice President and Managing Director of Nacco Materials Handling Group Pty Ltd, retired President MS Australia

Research Review BoardDevelops MSRA's research strategy.

Prof Bill Carroll – ChairmanClinical Professor of Neurology, Head of Department, Neurology and Neurophysiology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth

Prof Tony Basten AOSenior Principal Research Fellow, Immunology Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research

Prof Alastair CompstonProfessor of Neurology, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK

Prof Marc FeldmanDirector of Immunology, Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology, London, UK

Prof Trevor KilpatrickProfessor of Neurology and Director for Neurosciences, University of Melbourne

Dr John Richert Senior Fellow in Neurology, Research and Development, Biogen Idec, Boston, USA

Research Management Council (RMC)Reviews proposals for MS research investment.

Prof Bill Carroll – Chairman Clinical Professor of Neurology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth

Prof John Pollard AO – Vice Chair Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Sydney

Prof David Adams Director, Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne

Dr Michael Barnett Staff Neurologist, Senior lecturer in neurology, University of Sydney

Prof Alan Baxter Comparative Genomics Centre, James Cook University, Townsville

Prof Simon Broadley Professor in Neurology, Griffith University, Gold Coast

Dr Roger Garsia Head Division of Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney

Dr Peter HollingsworthHead of Department of Clinical Immunology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth

Prof Catriona McLean Head of Anatomical Pathology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne

RMC Social and Applied Research Sub-committeeDr Elizabeth McDonald – Chairman Specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine, Medical Director of MS Australia – ACT/NSW/VIC, Melbourne

Dr Lindsay Vowels – Vice Chair Practicing Physiologist – Private Practice, Melbourne

Dr Jennifer McGinley Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, Melbourne University

Dr Garry Pearce Private Practice, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney

Dr Ron Sharpe Representing People with MS, Former Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Building, Construction and Engineering

MSRA PersonnelJeremy wright Executive Director

Petricia Augustus Administration and Communications Manager

Heather Cato Research Coordinator, Perth office

Dr Ruth Hadfield Research Facilitator

Mandy Lee Relationship and Events Manager

Dr Lisa Melton Research Development Manager

Neil Robertson Foundation 5 Million Plus (F5m+) Campaign Manager

Prof Simon Hawke MSRA Brain Bank Director, University of Sydney

Dr Teresa wong MSRA Brain Bank Project Manager, University of Sydney

Dr John Parratt and A/Prof David Booth.

Prof Simon Hawke and Dr Teresa Wong promoting the MSRA Brain Bank.

Laura Gianni, MSRA research scholar, University of Melbourne

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MS Research Australia is working towards Freedom from MS

Accelerating MS ResearchMSRA contributes to the worldwide MS research effort by focusing on Australia’s acknowledged research strengths to solve MS.

Medical research requires team work. Eureka moments are achieved through collaborative effort. MSRA’s generous donors are a vital part of the team by providing encouragement and financial support to our researchers, to accelerate MS research around Australia.

Increasing funds and support

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)MS is the most common cause of neurological disability in young caucasian adults. It is an incurable, chronic, often disabling disease that randomly attacks and scars the protective tissue (myelin) that surrounds nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms range from fatigue, tingling and numbness to paralysis and blindness. In Australia the prevalence is growing at an alarming rate, striking three times more young women than men with diagnosis peaking at around 30 years of age.

Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia (MSRA)

MSRA is the research arm of MS Australia. Established in 2004, MSRA facilitates projects which aim to establish the environmental, genetic and neurological origins of MS and encourages collaboration between Australia’s best medical researchers. MSRA seeks financial support for this research via donations, grants, corporate partnerships, bequests, general fundraising and Foundation 5 Million Plus (F5m+) it's community fundraising initiative.

RESEARCH wILL ONE DAY PROVIDE A CURE FOR MS – IT IS JUST A MATTER OF wHEN.

Prof Graeme Stewart, Director, Institute for Immunology and Allergy Research, Westmead Millennium Institute

MS is on the increase, affecting more than 20,000 Australians and 3 million people globally. The impact on individuals and families is severe and on the nation’s economy is $2 billion p.a. without a cure or advanced treatments, this will continue. However, there is great potential for research breakthroughs, if we can muster and focus the resources now required.

Research Priorities

• Coordinating major collaborative research streams and platforms.

• Annual project grants to assist promising new research initiatives.

• Building research capacity by attracting the best researchers with career development grants.

Five main areas of research:

1. Genetics and Epidemiology2. Immunology and Virology3. Neurobiology4. Social and Applied Research 5. Clinical Trials

Rigorous and Robust Governance

• Our research strategy has been established and is reviewed by our Research Review Board with members from Australia and overseas.

• All our research funding proposals and initiatives are reviewed via our Research Management Council.

Major Research Streams and Platforms

Medical research institutes around Australia and New Zealand partnered with MSRA

MSRA Donors & Research Partners

MS Life Study tracking the

impact of clinical, therapeutic,

quality-of-life and socio-economic aspects on MS

ANZgene a collaboration aiming to identify and characterise the genes that cause

MS susceptibility and relapses

MS Prevention Trial needing to evaluate if vitamin D can prevent the onset of MS

MSRA Clinical Trials Network keeps the MS community involved with, and informed of, new trials

EBV Research determining if the

Epstein-Barr virus is a trigger for MS

MSRA Brain Bank provides researchers with human tissue to better study disease progress

Proteomics Research to understand the proteins influencing MS progression

Agnes Wong, MSRA Ian Ballard Travel Fellow, University of Melbourne.

Prof Shaun McColl and Mr Mark Cordina, University of Adelaide, working with a mass spectrometer used to identify protein changes in MS.

Dr Ben Emery, University of Melbourne, has now leveraged his MSRA grant to be awarded an NHMRC grant.

Dennis Furze (pictured) participating in Dr Herbert and Dr Hoang’s (pictured) study of muscle contracture at the George Institute, Sydney.

The patron of the MSRA Research Partners Program, Jim Conway, with Dr Fiona McKay of Westmead Millennium Institute, Sydney.MSRA volunteers on World MS Day.

100% of all project funding is allocated to specific areas of MS research and is often matched by government and other sources.

Opportunities for supporting MSRA include:

• Providing generous donations or bequests.

• Contributing to particular projects from our research portfolio.

• Directly supporting a talented young researcher with a Scholarship or Fellowship.

• Organising a fundraising event through F5M+ (our community fundraising initiative).

• Providing gifts in kind of products or services which will assist MSRA in reducing our overheads.

• Volunteering to assist one of our fundraising projects or events.

MSRA donors include:

• Generous individuals – contributions via donations, bequests and events.

• Foundation 5 Million Plus (F5m+) – MSRA’s community fundraising initiative. People with MS, their family and friends fundraise for MS research.

• Corporate partners, trusts and foundations supporting specific projects.

• Pharmaceutical Industry Round Table members – via unrestricted research and educational grants.

• Commonwealth and State Governments – via specific program grants.

• MS Australia and MS Societies.

• Affiliated groups – supporting particular research projects.